NEW DELHI: Octogenarian shooter Chandro Tomar, nicknamed ‘Shooter Dadi’, died on Friday after battling COVID-19. She was 89.
“Mera saath chhoot gaya, Chandro kaha chali gayi (She has left me, Chandro where have you gone?),” her sister-in-law Prakashi Tomar, who is also one of the oldest female sharp shooters in the world like Chandro, wrote on Twitter.
Earlier this week, Tomar was admitted to a hospital after complaining of difficulty in breathing.
Tests revealed she had contracted the highly contagious virus that is leading to over 3,000 deaths daily in the country.
Hailing from the Baghpat village in Uttar Pradesh, Tomar was already 60-plus when she picked up the gun for the first time but went on to win many national competitions, even inspiring a Bollywood movie – Saand Ki Aankh on her life. The biographical drama film was directed by Tushar Hiranandani and produced by Anurag Kashyap in 2019.
She was born on January 1, 1932. Since learning to shoot in 1999 when she was already in her 60s, she had attained national fame as an accomplished shooter, having won more than 30 national championships. She was referred to as the oldest (woman) sharpshooter in the world and a feminist icon.
With inputs from PTI
